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ASHEVILLE — Jimmy John's in downtown Asheville has closed after just two years of business on Biltmore Avenue.

Bike couriers delivering sandwiches told regular customers the news on July 9: The restaurant would go dark after 4 p.m.

Chris Nolan, who delivered sandwiches for the restaurant, said he would take a job at Habitat for Humanity once the shop closed. Other employees will take industry jobs in Asheville, while others are moving on.

The Biltmore Avenue restaurant did brisk lunch business with downtown workers who had limited time to eat and limited funds to spend, he said. "But the rent is increasing, and it's just not enough business to stay on the spot. It just doesn't add up."

Managing partner Erica Cady said the landlord's rent increases, the possibility of which had been written into the lease agreement, had taken a bigger bite out of profit margins than expected.

New business to move in

Landlord Terri Gould, who lives in Charleston, confirmed minimal rent increases were written into the lease, and said she allowed Jimmy John's out of their term early. She could not immediately recall the length of the lease term, but said the restaurant was paying significantly under market rate.

She also said a locally owned business that's "been in Asheville for quite a while," had already signed a lease to move into the spot, though she didn't want to reveal the name.

The new venture will not be a full-service restaurant, but will serve beverages, she said. "It's something unique and cool."

Cady admitted being part of a chain had hurt the business, and when workers left downtown, business dwindled. "But we're locally owned; I live here. People invest so much time, money and heart in their businesses, and there's just such a competitive scene down here."

Cady, who is 36, worked with Jimmy John's for 17 years in Lexington before moving to Asheville to be an operating partner. She's moving to Cincinnati to be closer to her family. "We gave it the old college try," she said.